10/3 — Read Time: 5 Minutes
Coronavirus/COVID-19
- The U.S. reported 49,713 new cases and 835 additional deaths. 14,166 patients are receiving critical care.
- President Trump went ahead with a fund-raiser at his golf club in New Jersey on Thursday, appearing before hundreds of supporters both indoors and outdoors, after Hope Hicks tested positive, the White House has acknowledged.
- White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany claims White House operations deemed it safe for the president to travel to New Jersey for his fundraiser yesterday after Hicks tested positive.
- McEnany confirmed that the White House is not changing the coronavirus safety procedures
- President Trump told veteran journalist Bob Woodward earlier this year that he was not worried about contracting COVID-19.
- Notre Dame President Fr. John Jenkins, who was at the White House on Saturday and was criticized for not wearing a mask and shaking hands, has tested positive for COVID-19.
- Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), who was at the White House on Saturday, has tested positive for COVID-19 after experiencing symptoms. He will isolate for the next 10 days.
- Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) who was at the White House on Saturday, has tested positive for the coronavirus, becoming the second GOP senator to be diagnosed with the virus.
- Former longtime adviser to President Trump Kellyanne Conway, who was at the White House on Saturday, has tested positive for COVID-19.
- President Trump did not participate on a call with the nation’s governors as was scheduled. VP Pence filled in for the ailing president.
- An internal memo from the White House Correspondents Association board to reporters said there are “two additional cases of COVID-19 at the White House.”
- Another memo states: “[A] member of our press corps tested positive today.” This person was last at the White House on Saturday (the day of the SCOTUS event) and traveled on Air Force One for the PA rally that night. The journalist showed symptoms yesterday.
- Trump’s campaign announced: “All previously announced campaign events involving the President’s participation are in the process of being moved to virtual events or are being temporarily postponed.”
- Chris Wallace, on Fox News, says Cleveland Clinic staff asked everyone in the debate hall to wear masks. Biden’s family did, Trump’s family didn’t. When clinic staff offered Trump’s family masks, the family waved them away.
- Three White House reporters have tested positive for COVID-19 after President Trump confirmed he was diagnosed with coronavirus. Several other White House journalists are getting tested for the virus and self-isolating.
- White House physician Sean Conley announced that President Trump “remains fatigued but in good spirits” and received a cocktail of polyclonal antibodies after being diagnosed with COVID-19.
- President Trump was given a dose of Remdesivir at Walter Reed hospital after White House doctors recommended the antiviral drug to treat his COVID-19 infection.
- President Trump tweeted a pre-recorded video message thanking Americans for their support as he battles COVID-19, the first time he has been heard from since sharing news of his diagnosis.
“I think I’m doing very well but we’re going to make sure that things work out,” Trump said. “The first lady is doing very well. So thank you very much. I appreciate it. I will never forget it.”
- Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a member of President Trump’s debate prep team, said nobody in the room was wearing a mask while helping him prepare.
- The Trump campaign did not notify Joe Biden’s team that the president had tested positive for coronavirus just two days after their first debate. Biden officials learned of the news through the media.
- Joe Biden and his wife have both tested negative for coronavirus.
- President Trump’s Supreme Court pick Judge Amy Coney Barrett reportedly tested positive for the coronavirus over the summer, but has since recovered.
- At least 11 employees at the Secret Service facility in Maryland reportedly tested positive coronavirus in August following training sessions and a graduation ceremony where no social distancing was practiced.
- Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) blasted Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar during his testimony before lawmakers on Friday over the Trump administration’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
“You can’t give me any numbers about the increases that are taking place. You don’t even know where those increases are taking place, and you come here today to testify with this paltry testimony that you’re giving us and you expect us to be happy,” Waters said.
Trump Administration
- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is launching an unprecedented billboard campaign highlighting immigrants who have been labeled “at-large immigration violators.” The signs will target migrants released by local law enforcement and who the agency claims “may post a public safety threat.”
- The Census Bureau announced Friday that it will continue conducting its count across the country through the end of the month, after a lengthy court battle with a federal judge.
- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) gave one of his clearest signals that he intends to hold a vote on Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court nomination before the upcoming November election — vowing to tee up the vote as it comes out of the Judiciary Committee.
- Top House lawmakers are calling on the Pentagon to turn over documents on how it used $1 billion in coronavirus relief funds, after top defense officials reportedly used most of the funds for jet engine parts, body armor and other military equipment instead of medical supplies.
- President Trump vowed that he will overturn an attempt to make the Navy SEALs official ethos more gender neutral, blasting the move as “ridiculous.” The proposed changes include revising “common man” to “common citizens,” “Brave men” to “Brave SEALs” and more.
- The House passed a bipartisan resolution condemning the sprawling QAnon conspiracy theory, though 18 Republican lawmakers voted against the measure in the 371-18 vote.
Protests/Racial & Social Issues
- Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill placed a corrections officer on administrative leave without pay this week after he allegedly used a racial slur to describe a Georgia inmate on suicide watch. Correction officer Gregory Hubert Brown was placed on the leave after “he called a inmate on suicide watch a ‘crazy N-word’ in front of other inmates and another Correctional Officer.”
Presidential Campaign
- When Joe Biden delivered remarks in Michigan on Friday, there was one major difference from his previous speeches: He spoke with a mask the entire time. The former vice president took the extra precaution after President Trump and first lady Melania Trump both tested positive for COVID-19.
- Joe Biden’s presidential campaign is taking down all negative ads and will only promote positive messages after President Trump announced he had tested positive for the coronavirus.
- Next week’s debate between Vice President Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, will take place as scheduled after President Trump tested positive for the coronavirus.
- The Trump campaign is moving his scheduled in-person rallies to virtual events or temporarily postponing them after the president tested positive for the coronavirus.
- The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a Republican bid to reinstate a pair of Arizona voting restrictions that were struck down by a lower court as racially biased.
Sources: ABC News, Associated Press, The Atlantic, Axios, Bloomberg, CBS News, CNN, Chicago Tribune, Financial Times, Forbes, Fox News,The Hill, Independent, MSNBC, NBC News, NJ.com, NPR, NY Times, Politico, Reuters, Salon, Slate, Vanity Fair, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post
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